NEWSPAPER OF THE SAUSH, PEND (TOREILLE
AND KOOTENAI TRIBES OF THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, WESTERN MONTANA
VOLUME 12 NUMBER 22
THE BUTTERCUP MONTH
APRIL 1, 1984
'Native America' earns representation at state Democratic convention
"This year for the first time, we can gain political power in only two hours!" the advertisement promised.
Two weeks later, the promise was fulfilled as dozens of Native Americans converged at the courthouse in Poison to participate in Montana's first-ever caucus to begin selection of
a Democratic presidential candidate.
Thanks in large measure to the efforts of a newcomer to the Reservation, an SKC instructor by the name of Tom Smith, between 50 and 60 people (one estimate said more), including a group from Kicking Horse Job Corps, answered the challenge to see if the county's Indian population could earn a voice at the state's Democratic convention in May.
As it happened, they earned two voices. From five state delegates allocated to Lake County, two will be Indian: Bear head Swaney and Kim Swaney Charlo. They will be representing a voter category called
"no preference", meaning a vote of no confidence, so to speak, in any Democrat running for president this year.
As delegates to the state convention, Swaney and Charlo will" have to be listened to as the only authentic voice for Native Americans," Smith explains in a fact sheet concerning the caucus process.
Swaney and Charlo's appearance at the state convention could easily lead to their being selected to attend the national convention in California in July, where they'd serve as repre-
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